Without that knock at the door
by Crinklybrownleaves
Summary: This is a little story that assumes Mei Lin never knocked on the door in series 4 episode 3. I have to admit I'm not enjoying the Mei Lin storyline at all, I just love Lucien and Jean as a couple. So this is just a bit of make believe for me till it all gets sorted out! Reviews very welcome.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I don't own these characters, though I wish I did! I've now watched some of season 4, and I have to say I'm not enjoying the Mei Lin storyline at the moment, though the mysteries are still good. So,** **this little story is me just imagining what might have happened if Mei Lin had not knocked on the door that night; in my story she remains safely dead.**

 **I hope this keeps me happy until the real writers sort out what is going to happen!**

"Jean, this was my mother's ring, and I'd very much like you to have it. Will you marry me?" Lucien's voice shook slightly and oddly it was this that struck Jean first. Lucien never seemed nervous about anything but now he looked terrified, and his hand shook slightly as he held the beautiful ring out to her, still in its box.

Jean glanced down at the ring, then back to his face and read in his eyes a mixture of love and growing panic as her silence extended. As the shock of the question receded slightly she remembered he was expecting an answer and, smiling reassuringly she whispered "Yes. Yes, of course I will!" And she pressed a tiny kiss to his cheek, just on the corner of his mouth.

With a sigh of relief, Lucien smiled broadly and stretched his arm around her, pulling her nearer to him on the couch. In response Jean slid towards him and rested her hand on his waist, as he kissed her for the first time on the lips, gently at first, experimentally, trying to gauge how she was feeling. The first kiss was brief, but the second time he felt her respond and he deepened the kiss, moving his lips a little and relishing the softness of her as she pressed a little closer.

Jean felt the coarse hair of his beard moving against her mouth, and as they broke away for a moment she could taste whisky and smell the warm, distinctly masculine scent of his skin. Slightly breathless and pink, she smiled at him, suddenly feeling a little shy, but Lucien just hugged her tighter for a moment, then murmured, "I'm so glad. Now, what about this ring?"

He nodded towards the ring he was still holding and Jean realised with a slight awkwardness that she was still wearing her wedding ring. She had never considered taking it off before; she was Christopher's widow and she wore it to remember him. But she could hardly wear another man's engagement ring next to it. Slowly she drew the gold band off her ring finger and studied it for a moment as it lay in the palm of her hand. Then she decisively placed it on the coffee table in front of her and took the ring box from Lucien.

As he had watched Jean take off her wedding ring, he had seen how hard that had been. He didn't doubt that Jean loved him, but he knew that part of her would always be reserved for her first husband. " I'll never forget Mei Lin either," he said," but we can love each other without forgetting them." And he slid the engagement ring onto her finger.

As she noticed that it fitted perfectly a thought occurred to her. "Now I know why I couldn't find my engagement ring the other day!"

"Ah yes, the old one," Lucien chuckled. " I thought I'd given myself away then."

They settled back onto the couch, Lucien still with his arm around Jean, and she rested her head back onto his chest. The sweet smell of her hair tempted him to kiss the top of her head, and they were now sitting so closely together that he could feel the heat of her leg pressed against his thigh. Her hand now rested gently in his and she stroked the palm of his hand slowly with her thumb.

They both knew they would have many things to discuss in the next few days, but for now they were happy to just enjoy each other's closeness. They had lived together for two years now, but had never had this sense of hope for the future together.

Lucien could feel his eyes beginning to droop a little. The warmth of Jean's body pressed to him, and the sleepless night he had had during the kidnapping case, meant that he was drifting into a contented doze. Jean resisted sleep a little longer, still excited and rather amazed to find herself engaged. But within a few minutes she was sleeping too, all tension leaving her as she settled in his embrace.

As Charlie returned home after an evening catching up on the paperwork from the case, he let himself in quietly in case the doctor and Mrs Beazley had retired for the night. A single lamp was still on in the living room so he went to say good night to whoever was still up, and was brought up short by the sight of Lucien and Jean asleep on the couch in each other's arms. Charlie's initial surprise turned rapidly to pleasure, as both he and Mattie had hoped Jean and Lucien would admit how they felt about each other while they were in Adelaide, but they had been hard to read when they returned. They had seemed happy but nothing had been said. Now it seemed it had been resolved.

Charlie turned to leave but then his eye caught the gold ring lying on the table, and a quick glance at Jean's hand was all he needed to understand their new status. Tiptoeing out now, his grin showing his happiness for them, he only regretted that Mattie wasn't here to see them too. He was already planning how he could tease the doctor about his engagement over breakfast.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews. As ever, these are not my characters.**

 **if anyone has any suggestions for how they would like me to continue this story, or better still for a new Lucien and Jean story, do please let me know!**

When Charlie arrived for breakfast the following morning, he was struck by the change in atmosphere in the house. Jean was moving around the kitchen rather as if she was floating 6 inches above the floor, and Lucien was looking what could only be described as smug, as he watched her fry his eggs and bacon.

Whenever they caught each other's eye, they seemed to be communicating something without words, in a language Charlie didn't speak. They barely seemed to notice his arrival.

He decided to plunge right in. "Congratulations," he said. "When is the wedding?"

That certainly got their attention. "Which wedding would that be?" asked Lucien, at exactly the moment that Jean said," I don't know what you mean!" Then with a resigned look at each other they turned to Charlie together. "So much for keeping it quiet," murmured Jean.

"Well, if you didn't want anyone to know, you shouldn't have fallen asleep on the couch wearing a new ring!" teased Charlie. "Anyway, I won't tell anyone if you'd prefer nobody knew."

"Just for a few days, please Charlie, till we've worked out how to manage this," said Lucien, and he and Jean started on the silent communication again.

Charlie finished his toast and stood to leave. "Thanks for breakfast, Mrs Beazley, and I think it's wonderful news." He walked round to Jean and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush a little, then followed up with a handshake and congratulations for the doctor.

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After a mercifully quiet morning surgery, Jean brought a tray of tea in for Lucien, with an extra cup for herself. He was seated as usual behind his desk, and normally she would have sat in the patient's chair, but Lucien stood and took her hand and led her round to his side of the desk he had inherited from his father. As he sat down he drew her down with him, so she was sitting across his lap, her arms naturally circling his neck to help her balance.

Holding her firmly round her slim waist he kissed the side of her neck, and along her neckline, tickling her with his beard and making her wriggle a little in his lap.

"Lucien! What if someone sees?" she chided him, but rather half-heartedly. There was no one to see, and what did it matter really now anyway? Lucien slid his hand down to her hip and held her even closer, and she turned her head towards him and kissed him softly on the lips. "So, how are we going to explain this to everyone?" she continued.

" I think we should fix a date for the wedding, then tell the people who really matter. Everyone else will hear soon enough through the Ballarat grapevine."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Jean replied. "The grapevine could cause us both some trouble; plenty of people already think the worst of us."

"Well, then we'd better pick a date that's soon. How about a month or so from now? Will that be long enough to invite your family?" asked Lucien. "I don't have any family who would be able to come anyway." Her moving in his lap was making it hard for him to concentrate now.

Jean thought for a moment. "Yes, that should be long enough, I don't suppose Jack will come but I'd like to ask him. Do you think Matthew will be well enough to come by then?"

Lucien continued running his hand over Jean's hip, his fingertips straying further over the back of her leg. He replied, "Yes, I should think so, if he doesn't mind using a walking stick."

Jean kissed his beard, high up on his cheek by his ear, and whispered, "I think that's far enough, don't you, Lucien?" And he reluctantly moved his hand back to safer territory.

"All the more reason to marry me very soon," he smiled.

"I'd love to ask Mattie, but I don't suppose she'd come back all that way for a wedding, it would be so expensive to fly back," pondered Jean.

"Well, it'll only be a small wedding, neither of us have many people to invite, so we could offer to pay for her ticket, if you'd like her there. If she can take the time away from work, of course." Lucien offered. Jean kissed him in agreement and slid off his lap to stand in front of him.

"Now you'd better ring the priest and fix a date." Jean handed Lucien the phone, drank the remainder of her tea, and left with the tray, fully aware of the way Lucien's eyes ran over her as she walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

**OK, a bit more happy stuff to cheer us all up. As always, these are not my characters. Thank you for the lovely reviews!**

Three days before the wedding, Jean was hanging washing on the line when she heard the crunch of car wheels on the gravel driveway. She hurried round the side of the house in time to see Mattie getting out of a taxi and looking appraisingly at the familiar house in front of her. Catching sight of Jean, Mattie ran and hugged her, holding on as if for dear life. "Oh Jean, you look so well!" she said, standing back and looking at her properly. "Love suits you, obviously. And look at that ring! It's gorgeous."

Jean blushed a little and took Mattie's case from her. "You look lovely too. I hope the couple of days spent with your parents have helped you recover from the journey? Now, you must tell me all about London, and what you've seen, and how your parents are. Come in, I want to know all about it."

Over a pot of tea, Mattie told Jean about some of the places she'd visited in London, and a couple of stories about new friends made in the hospital. She told her about the nurses' home, and how it was nothing like as homely as living with Jean and Lucien in Ballarat. Jean told her a little about Matthew's recovery, and Rose, and Frank Carlyle, but mostly Jean just wanted to hear Mattie's news.

When the tea had been finished, Jean took Mattie back to her old room. "We've put you in here for now, all the rooms are being rearranged but we thought you'd like to be back in your old familiar room," Jean explained. Lucien and Jean had decided that once they were married they would use his mother's old studio as their bedroom, rather than one of them moving in with the other. The studio was a large, light room with plenty of space for all their things, and it felt like a fresh start.

The studio was slowly being furnished and rearranged to make a bedroom, and Mattie and Jean spent much of the afternoon sorting through and moving some of Jean's clothes and books into the new room. After a while, Mattie asked about Jean's wedding dress, and Jean rather nervously showed Mattie the dress and jacket she had made. Fortunately Mattie loved it, and made her try it on, even finding the right shoes and rearranging Jean's hair to suit her. Jean surprised herself by enjoying this attention, it almost felt like two girls playing dressing up, and the age gap between the two women seemed to fall away as they laughed together.

By the time Lucien and Charlie came home, the women had prepared dinner and were setting the table.

"Mattie, it's lovely to see you!" grinned Lucien, but he went first to Jean, holding her from behind as she stood at the stove cooking, whispering something in her ear that made her blush, then he kissed her gently on the lips as she turned round.

Mattie had watched this display of affection with surprise and joy. She had been so used to their restrained touches of affection that seeing them love each other openly was rather odd, but in a lovely way.

Lucien then turned to Mattie, hugging her and then holding her at arms' length, taking all of her in, and nodding in satisfaction. "London suits you, you must tell me all about it over dinner." As they sat down to eat and Charlie joined them, Jean was struck by how right this all felt, the four of them together around her table, making a family by choice. She caught Lucien's eye and it seemed to her he was thinking the same; Mattie and Charlie were like the children they might have had if their lives had taken a different path.

They all lingered over the dinner table, catching up on news and enjoying the familiar routine. "Mattie, you know there will always be a room for you here if you want it," said Lucien. Mattie nodded, and a tear started to blur her vision, but she knew she wasn't ready to come back yet.

Mattie went to bed not long afterwards, still rather jet-lagged, and Charlie started to watch something on the television, so Lucien and Jean went into the studio, sitting on the old leather couch under the window. His arm went round her shoulders and he pulled her close. Her hand rested on his leg and he groaned a little in appreciation.

The room was starting to change around them. The walls and mantelpiece were still full of his mother's paintings, but there was now a large wardrobe filled with their clothes, and Jean's dressing table stood in the corner. Their new bed was made up ready and the fire was lit as the evening was turning chilly.

Not for the first time, Jean looked at the bed with some apprehension. She was a mature, sensible woman, but she had been feeling increasingly concerned about how this would all work out once they were married. She had only ever slept with Christopher, and that was now a long time in the past, and she had no idea how she was going to react to being intimate with someone else. Kissing and cuddling was one thing, but going to bed with Lucien was something else entirely. She knew she wanted to, but the thought made her nervous.

Lucien, of course, had noticed this worrying, and guessed what she was concerned about. "It will be fine, I promise," he said softly. He kissed her gently, then with more urgency, teasing her lip with his tongue and running his hand up her side until he felt the softness of her breast under his fingers. Jean responded without thinking about it, playing with the hair at the back of his neck and parting her lips to let him in. Her other hand slipped under his shirt to touch his side, and up towards his chest, before he broke away from the kiss.

"You see, it will be fine," he reassured her, "but if you like we could practise now?" he continued with an enquiring eyebrow.

"Lucien!" she scolded him. "The whole town may think I'm your mistress, but they have always been wrong, and I'm not going to change that now. We can wait three more days, surely?"

"Yes, of course," he agreed. "Just kiss me goodnight." Shortly afterwards Jean left to go to her own room, leaving Lucien to finish his whisky alone, but thoroughly content.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, here we are! The final chapter of this story. I've kept it pretty low key so you'll just have to use some imagination...I did spend quite a long time thinking about Craig McLachlan's chest, but I'm keeping those thoughts to myself!**

In the half light of Sunday's dawn, Lucien woke to the sight of the dark curls of Jean's hair on the pillow beside him. Married for a matter of hours, he had never seen Jean like this; tousled hair, loose limbs, totally relaxed, and naked. They were spooned together in the middle of the bed, and Lucien found himself studying the milky smoothness of the skin on her back. He wanted to run his fingertips over the smooth curve of her waist and hip, but didn't want to wake her just yet, so he resisted.

He turned over memories of the previous day in his mind, savouring the moments that stood out to him; Jean on Christopher's arm as she came into the church, Matthew giving his speech as best man, Jean's hand in his as they spoke to friends at the reception.

Then later, with Mattie and Charlie staying with friends, Lucien and Jean had come home, and with some relief closed the door behind them. Pouring them both a drink, he took Jean to the familiar couch in the studio and slowly, gently, set about loving her for the first time without any restraints or limits. She responded with a boldness that both surprised and delighted him, and by the time he led her to bed, all nerves were forgotten.

Now, in the slowly developing daylight, he marvelled at his good fortune in finding Jean. Finally unable to stop himself, he stroked delicately down her back and over her hip, thinking about the fragility and price of happiness. He could not remember ever loving as fiercely as this, but two people had died before he and Jean could love each other, and in a way Christopher and Mei Lin would always be there in the background of their new life.

Jean turned towards him with a growing smile, cuddling against his chest as his arms went round her. After a while she stirred and said sleepily, "I should get up and make you some breakfast."

"Oh no, you're not the housekeeper anymore! Food can wait for a bit, just stay here with me," his voice low and persuasive.

Jean stroked his chest and tucked her head against his neck, sighing with satisfaction. As she started to kiss his neck and jaw, Lucien glanced up at the ceiling and noticed the gold leaf glittering in the light against the dark wood.

"So beautiful," he murmured, and kissed her in return.


End file.
